Game Courts and Courtship Games
by Bineshii
Summary: Ambassador Soval and Admiral Forrest are friends, but they might just call it a working relationship.  They play racquetball together and talk off the record quite often.  This time, the subject of interspecies romance comes up.


**Disclaimer: No filthy lucre changed hands\**

**Game Courts and Courtship Games**

By Bineshii

Soval was off his game today. It was not often that Admiral Forrest could come within five points of the Vulcan. Still, it was a pleasant diversion for them both. Forrest knew that Soval toned down his game for his Human friend. Wasn't it just last week when that new embassy aide came limping out the court door and Soval, with an almost-grin on his haughty Vulcan face, peered around the door, raised an eyebrow, and said: "Next?" What the aide had done, Forrest never discovered, but he knew that Soval often used the Human game of racquetball as an instrument of torture among his own kind.

Trying to make polite conversation during their game, Forrest mentioned that Commander T'Pol had made the last report from Enterprise when Captain Archer was preoccupied. Their conversation had been pleasant, T'Pol having mastered Human language inflections and seemed on the edge of a humorous remark at one point. He had meant this recitation as a complement to Vulcans, but Soval gave the ball a vicious wack, which sent it ricocheting off the walls at a speed that the Human eye could not follow.

"Uh oh", Forrest thought, "What have I done now?"

Soval was following the ball, but still had breath enough to talk. "Admiral, I have come to the conclusion that there is such a thing as too much mastery of an alien culture."

"So you think that T'Pol has gone native?" That bit was out before Forrest realized it. It would not do to attempt humor when Soval was this far into Vulcan angst. He did not try to return the ball, letting Soval take the point and hit the ball again with equal force.

It took Soval several more minutes to calm down before Forrest dared speak again. "Well, Ambassador, I can hardly catch up to you now. How about a mug of your excellent Vulcan spice tea and a walk through the embassy gardens? Didn't T'Vim mention some new plantings? I think she has acquired a rare high altitude Vulcan flowering thorn bush that is used to cooler weather."

Soval straightened to his full height, letting the ball drop to the floor and roll away. "Of course, Admiral. That is an excellent idea."

Half an hour later the two men were strolling past a sand garden filled with grey waxy fat-leaved plants that held water like old Fort Knox used to hold its gold. The new plant was further down the path. Soval stopped once and took a deep breath as if to smell the flowers, but Forrest knew he was centering himself with a walking meditation. This was a sign that the Vulcan would soon explain what was bothering him. There would be no apology, for an explanation was an apology in itself – an acknowledgment that the two of them were close enough to share confidences.

Soval got right to the point. "I advise you to remove T'Pol from Starfleet. She dishonors both your people and mine. Although she has recently married the Vulcan male rightfully chosen for her in childhood, she previously bonded with a Human male. This is unacceptable behavior from one trusted with such a high position of responsibility. Bonding with a Human demeans Vulcan culture and bodes ill for the future of Vulcan/Human relations."

Forrest was dumfounded. He had come to the point in his friendship with this Vulcan where he thought he was accepted as an equal. For years he had swallowed what he considered insults from this man in the name of interplanetary relations, often because he thought the insult was not intended. Soval had come far in his understanding of Human sensibilities, but this seemed a throwback to the old imperious Soval.

Forrest sipped his tea. Then he sipped it again, not trusting his voice, which seemed to want to do one of two things: laugh or project anger. Their two species were, after all, physically compatible even if conception had not been proven to be possible. They had similar wiring and plumbing, to put it euphemistically. So, why the hell not? T'Pol certainly made HIM look twice. Many Vulcan women did.

And there was one pointy-eared vixen (yes that was the best word for her) who once had him cornered in a side room at a reception, with that look in her eyes that with Human women had led to many a night of physical delights in his youth. The woman's precisely cut hair had been disarranged: a stray raven lock sticking to her forehead. She had been sweating and her eyes had held his like a snake its prey. Her look had said, "You are mine! You cannot say no," although she spoke not one word. She had raised an eyebrow and with a Mona Lisa smile, ran a finger over the back of his hand and up his forearm. Then she had gripped his arm with such force he almost cried out in pain. But a couple of Vulcan security people had found them, and gently detached her hand from his arm. She struggled at first, and then gave a little rasping cry, before going limp between them. Forrest thought one of them had surreptitiously injected her with something. They led her away, and that was that. This was the ONLY time a Vulcan had ever apologized to him. The guard said she was 'sick' and she would be sent home to Vulcan. So what was up with that? Forrest never found out because Soval always deflected any conversation he started over this incident.

Forrest knew Soval expected some sort of reaction from him on the subject of T'Pol. But he was taking his time, knowing that Soval thought Humans jumped in with their opinions before thinking them over logically. Often Forrest would vary the length of time before his responses, just to throw Soval off guard. He liked to present him with the unexpected and then witness the Vulcan frustration dance – in all its subdued, repressed, elegance. "So…I know you yourself have, even if ever so briefly, considered experimenting with a Human female. It has been a long time since the passing of your beloved wife and there are many women who have shown interest. I remember one young woman your eyes were always following."

Soval glared at the Admiral. "She rejected my discrete offer. That was unquestionably the most illogical thing any Human has ever done."

"But you gave her no warning of your interest, no time to get to know you and appreciate the gentle soul under the hard crust. There are many women who show interest in you and you ignore them." Forrest had acquired a certain deftness to use with Vulcans which applied praise wrapped in admonishments.

Soval raised his chin and looked out of the corner of his eye at the Admiral. "I prefer to do the hunting. I do not like to be hunted."

Forrest kicked a pebble off the path with his toe, turning his body slightly to hide a grin. "I don't find your courtship strategy all that logical. It certainly has not produced any…a…logical results."

"Correct. It has not. Let us drop this unproductive subject."

Soval paced ahead a few steps. His back was stiff, a sign that his pride had been offended. It would be useless to point out to Soval, again, that pride was an emotion. Pointing it out just drew up deeper emotions – which Soval also tagged with non-emotional labels. Indeed, it was time to change the subject. Forrest waited for Soval to do just that, as he watched his friend's shoulders relax.

Soval turned to Forrest. "Maxwell, over the years, you and I have spent many hours arguing with each other and many hours relaxing together. We have grown comfortable with each other and know when we can share confidences and when we cannot. Therefore, I think it is time that I shared a few odd details about my culture that I would trust to no other Human. But not here, I will share them when we get to Vulcan. I must have the proper surroundings to explain them."

In this moment, Forrest knew their relationship had reached another breakthrough. He nodded briefly in the Vulcan fashion. "I am honored. I am sure it would serve well in our future relations, to have a deeper understanding of your traditions. It would help in negotiating accords that would be acceptable to both our peoples."

Forrest then fell into step beside Soval as the two searched for the new plant, each knowing that there were few people he was more comfortable with than the person at his side. But this was something neither man would ever admit aloud, let alone to himself. And this relationship could only deepen, for after the talks at the High Command Building and in the Earth Embassy on Vulcan, they were to tour Soval's home world, exploring all the places that were special to Soval.


End file.
